The harsh landscapes of the northern island of Hokkaido are amongst Japan’s most uninhabitable. Its people endure long hard winters with a climate closer to that of Europe’s northern extremes than mainland Japan.
Kushiro in the South East has less snow than other areas of the island but this only means that the deep winter temperatures become significantly colder than anywhere else. The climate also affects the temperament of its inhabitants who generally have more patience than their neighbours on the mainland, they understand the power of nature, constantly reminded of its extremes, even developing their own vocabulary to describe the cold. The Japanese history of the island is still young however, the first settlers came here in 1869, pioneers from all across Japan adopting influences from Russia and the native Ainu people as they struggled to make a life in this new environment.
The Tanaka family have been breeding working horses (Ban’ei as they’re known in Japan) for 74 years on their farm in Tsurui, a remote area just outside Kushiro. Tanaka-san’s father, a first generation migrant from Hyogo started farming after their family restaurant was destroyed by fire, back then they had buffalo, sheep, goats, turkeys and even ducks. Now…
